HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-01-24 Public Comment - T. Wilkinson - Letter to City CommissionFrom:Todd Wilkinson
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Letter to City Commission
Date:Monday, April 1, 2024 6:15:12 PM
Attachments:Wilkinson South Guthrie Letter.docx
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Dear City Commission,
Please accept and consider the attached letter in advance
of your meeting on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. I would be grateful
if you could please confirm receipt.
Thank you and best regards,
Todd Wilkinson
March 30, 2024
Dear Bozeman City Commission,
Thank you for reading this leter. I love Bozeman, as I know you do. That is not in doubt.
As a proud long�me resident, as a parent of two now-grown kids who were raised in this town,
as a ci�zen who has volunteered for a wide range of local community en��es over the years,
and as a professional inves�ga�ve journalist who, for nearly four decades, has writen
extensively about regional and na�onal planning issues, I am expressing my deep concern about
Bozeman’s approach to land use planning.
Not only have recent events led to growing public distrust of those serving in the city planning
department but numerous development projects recently approved by this city commission and
earlier itera�ons of it have alienated mul�-genera�on residents like me who have given much to
making Bozeman a great, atrac�ve place to live. There is nothing that corrodes the spirit of a
community faster, and, sadly, it is happening right before our eyes. When the city commission
says it has been chastened by the growing backlash and message sent in recent elec�on results,
we are le� to wonder whether you’re really answering to the will of the people.
With this leter, I encourage the city commission to exercise its legal authority and assume
oversight control over—and provide more intensive analysis of— the proposed “Guthrie
Project” slated for North Fi�h and Villard. You are well aware of the numerous legi�mate
concerns residents have raised and I do not need to repeat the full litany here.
As a pragma�st, I am not opposed to “growth” or to “change.” Both, a�er all, are inevitable. But
dumb growth and poorly scru�nized change, which ruin neighborhoods and cause ci�zens to no
longer trust in government, are not inevitable. They are the result of elected officials and
planning staff who callously ignore hear�elt concerns brought forward by ci�zens who are
convinced our city is pandering to the desires of developers—some of whom are benefi�ng
handsomely from dumb growth, dumb change and nega�ve impacts being foisted upon ci�zens.
The worst part is that some of your so-called incen�ves actually amount to subsidies that pad
developers’ profits at our expense.
I appreciate the hard work that goes into serving in elected office. Please listen carefully to the
concerns that are coming at you now from all corners of this community. But even more than
listen, heed them as that is your duty. Please do the right thing, win back our faith, and have
developers conform to meet our community values rather than the opposite.
Sincerely,
Todd Wilkinson
322 South Seventh Avenue
Bozeman